This Land is My Land

This Land is My Land

PAINTINGS FOR SALE??????

HELL YES they are for sale!!! I believe in "Affordable art for the masses!"

Check out my ETSY STORE for original paintings

If you have any questions regarding my paintings you can contact me at rvpainter@gmail.com


Thursday, September 29, 2011

MOVED!!!!!

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well the closing on the house is completed and our FUNDS should be in our bank account today!!!
We still have a lot of arranging of STUFF to do in the UNIT ON THE HILL - but all in all it is quite comfortable - in a nice location of Santa Fe - it is clean and quiet.  What more could one ask for!!!!  It is 1/2 the size of our home we moved out of which is a good thing in that it will prepare us for our RV adventure starting in 6 months.  The RV will be less than 1/2 of space in this UNIT ON THE HILL.  Soooooo we are leaning now how to conserve space and to do without STUFF!!!!
Our TV service and phone service still needs to be hooked up and that is suppose to happen today - why I can get WiFi I'm not sure but I am glad I can.
My DW and I spent 14 hours moving into our UNIT ON THE HILL and I have to say that I don't think this old body will ever be the same.  We had 4 other people helping us a couple of weeks ago when we moved the bulk of our STUFF into the storage unit but the other day when we moved the rest into the UNIT ON THE HILL, we had one person help for a couple of hours and after that it was my DW and her DH (that's me!!!) There is no part of  my body that does not hurt and my leg cramps and hand cramps are pretty much constant - so I hope that does improve!!!
Well just a quick note to say we are alive and well and hope to be 95% organized by the week end and I hope in a short time I will be painting again.
More later my friends.  JR  :>) 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

THIS IS D-DAY

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

It is 7 am - I've been up since 4:30 am and today is moving day!!!  We pick up our U-Haul truck - just a small one as we will be in The Unit On The Hill for only 6 months so we are not taking a lot with us and will live in a very minimalistic setting.

One of the fellows who helped us with the big move of Stuff into the storage unit will be helping us this morning for a couple of hours.  We'll just setup the bed in the apartment and then come back here to the house and do our final spot cleaning (I've been cleaning for a couple of days now) as the buyers' broker is coming tomorrow to INSPECT the house!!!

Some day look on the tops of your highest closet shelve and see if dust has collected.  HOLY CRAP -------- I was amazed at the amount of dust - where does it come from in a closet???  How does it get into the closet??? 

Well ---- one last cup of coffee and then off to pick up the truck!  I told my DW that at almost 72 years of age this is the last time I will move our STUFF - next time we hire movers, pull up a comfortable chair and WATCH THE MOVERS MOVE!!!!!!!  Tis what they do!!!!!

I'll see youse guys in a couple of days - once I find my computer after moving into ------

THE UNIT ON THE HILL----------JR   :>)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

SAME OLD - SAME OLD

Hello Blog Buddies,

Well more packing today and more STUFF into the storage area - I can only assume you guys are as tired of hearing about this as we are of doing THIS!!!!

We move out on Tuesday, into the UNIT ON TOP OF THE HILL - on Wednesday morning we sign our side of the documents and when the funds transfer on Thursday or Friday------

WE CELEBRATE!!!!!!

It will most likely take a week or so to unpack things and to find a place for everything and of course everything in it's place.  Once this is done----------------------------

 I CAN PAINT AGAIN!!!!!

Soooooooo I may not post for a few days but a day or two after moving into the
UNIT ON TOP OF THE HILL I will post and let you guys know how it is going!

Later my friends---     :>)  JR

Saturday, September 24, 2011

DAY OF SEMI REST

Yo Blog Buddies,

Well---------------my DW and I sort of had a day of rest today.  We went to the Farmers Market this morning - walked around - looked around - bought a nice FATTENING TREAT and just plain had fun!!!

I've been trying to sell some of the frames I have as I really have not place to store these frames and our storage unit is getting close to full.  There is a native American art college down the road from our home and I've sold frames in the past to some of the students. An art student dropped by today and I sold him all the frames I had in my inventory - about 20 of them and although I sold them for quarters on the dollar - it made me feel good as I was helping a fellow artist get his work out into the world.  Art students do not have a lot of money so I feel pretty dam good just knowing I helped some one.  On the selfish side, I don't have to move these now and I don't have to try and fit them into the storage unit so it was a win-win situation for both of us!!!!  I can use the money to buy some more RV-TOYS!!!!!!  :>)

We'll finish up most all that is left to do moving wise tomorrow and be ready to move out on Tuesday.

Later my friends.  JR  :>)


    

Friday, September 23, 2011

GETTING CLOSE

Yo Blog Buddies,

Just a short HELLO --- we did some more packing today and brought some more "Stuff" down to the storage unit.  It amazes me as we just somehow keep fitting more and more into this 10x10 space!!!!  We'll bring some more down tomorrow as well.
I've got a few 36x24 and 48x30 paintings to store in this space.

Come Sunday we'll just have the very bare essentials around and just throw those onto the truck on Tuesday.

We are now told that we will still close on 9/28 and the buyer will be in town on 9/28 to sign their side of the documents and the funding ($$$$$$$$$$$$) should take place on 9/29.

My DW and I are sooooooooooo tired of packing-lifting-moving-packing-packing, lifting ---- well you get the idea!

I've donated approx. one dozen paintings to charitable auctions for local Santa Fe organizations.  It's a wonderful feeling to be able to help others.

We are going to a cook-out tonight at the home of some friends and it will be good to kick back and forget about moving for a few hours.

We'll be back into it again tomorrow - although we are going to the Farmer's market in the morning and just walk around - my DW will take some photos and we'll get a nice sticky treat for ourselves - we deserve it!!!  :>)

Until next time my friends :>)  JR

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

YO

Hello Blog Buddies,

I have to tell you that not being able to paint is starting to get to me - to wear on my nerves - make me grumpy all this and more!!!!!  However being a family blog I won't go into any of the other ways not painting is bothering me!!!

 We 'MAY' be closing on our home next Wednesday 9/28.

We will be moving into the UNIT ON TOP OF THE HILL a week from today on Tuesday 9/27.  This will begin our 6 month stay after which we will fly to Elkhart Indiana and pick up our new RV.

The move on 9/27 into the UNIT will allow me to start painting again AT LAST!!!!  It will take a few days to get settled into the UNIT and then the music will be turned on and the paint will fly!!!!!!  I'm getting very excited just thinking about it!!!!  :>)

For the next few days we will be packing up the remainder of our "stuff" some of which will go into storage and the rest into the UNIT. We are not bringing much to the UNIT - it will be very minimalistic as it will only be for 6 months - no need to get too comfortable!!!!

I'll be back at YA soon - until then my friends.

:>)  JR

Sunday, September 18, 2011

STORAGE

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well, yesterday we moved most of our possessions into climate controlled storage.  It took about 5 hours to load up and unload - we had the help of 4 other people so it went quickly and smoothly.  That being said, I must say that these 71 year old bones are hurting this morning!  We kept the bare minimal household items for our 6 month stint in the Unit At The Top Of The Hill.

Once the house is sold, we will move into this Unit ( 1 bedroom apartment) for a period of 6 months.  We have delayed the start of our RV adventure for a couple of reasons:

1. My DW Melissa will be releasing her middle grade novel to the public sometime in very early October.

2, Melissa has several book signings scheduled - which happen to be in colder climates which would not be applicable to RV living as most if not all RV parks in cold climates close for the winter.

So we decided it would be better and easier to hold off on our RV adventure start until April 2012.   WE have a saying - "make things easy - keep things simple."

After many, many months of RV research, we have decided on the following plan:
In early October we will travel to Elkhart Indiana ( the RV manufacturing capital of the USA) and tour the factory and facilities of NEXUS which is a new RV manufacturer in the market.  The company is owned and run by 2 fellows who have gobs and gobs of experience with RVs.  Additionally they have recruited some pretty top notch people to build these RVs.
If all my research bears out, and after watching their construction practices and touching - holding - rubbing - sitting - laying - looking and thoroughly examining their product we feel certain that all will be exactly as it is represented to be.  At this point, we will place an order for a 31 foot Class C RV to be constructed as we want it and to be ready for us to pick up 4/1/12.
At this point the plan is to come back to Santa Fe and stay a couple of weeks, getting out of storage those items that we will need in the RV - clothes, pots & pans etc etc - and painting supplies of course!!  During our 2 week+/- stay in NM we will learn how to operate the various systems in our RV - once comfortable, we will proceed to a journey up the East Coast - visiting relatives, a stay in Maine where we lived at one time and then on up into Nova Scotia for most of the summer at various RV parks
Beyond this still needs to be planned out but that we have plenty of time to do.

Soooooo exciting times ahead for me and Melissa, with the release of her novel and its marketing being the most exciting and at this time the most important task we face before starting our RV journey.

Later my friends--------  :>)   RJ

Friday, September 16, 2011

HOME SALE PROGRESS

Hello Blog Buddies,

We got an update today from our broker on the status of our home sale.  Our buyer is proceeding on time with the sale and closing of their house.  A couple of minor inspection issues arose and are being corrected as I write.  Additionally we found out the THEIR buyer has bought quite a bit of furniture from OUR BUYER.  So one could say that THEIR buyer is certainly committed to the purchase.  If all goes well, OUR BUYER will close on their home approx. 9/24 and then a closing date will be set for OUR BUYER to close on OUR HOME.

NOTHING HAPPENS-NOTHING HAPPENS-THEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS!

We are moving most of our worldly possessions into a climate controlled storage bunker tomorrow!!

What is going to happen is:  Once we close on OUR home, we will move into an apartment which is fondly referred to as The UNIT On Top Of The Hill.  It is a small one bedroom UNIT ( on top of a hill - thus the name,) which we will reside (stay) in for 6 months - until April 1, 2012.  We are bringing just enough furniture to sit, sleep, watch TV, items needed to cook and of course PAINT!!!!  Oh yes items to BATHE with as well!!!  :>)

Next week sometime I will bring you up-to-date on where our RV plans are and what will be taking place with that very exciting adventure.

Also more on my DW's novel - this is the most exciting happening in our life at present and as promised I will keep you updated.

Later my friends ---  :>)   JR

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

18 X 24 ON GESSOED MDF PANEL WITH PALETTE KNIFE AND SOME BRUSH WORK.  A TRIBUTE TO 9/11 AND TO THE BRAVE SOULS PROTECTING OUR NATION.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A GREAT NOVEL IS ON THE HORIZON

Hello Blog Buddies,

If you look over to the the right, you will see the cover of my DW's novel which is due to hit the public very early in October.  My services were engaged as a proof reader starting after she had formed the 2nd chapter.  Now I realize Melissa is my DW - however I have to tell you that this is a GREAT BOOK!!!!  I have probably read it a dozen times and I am completely honest in saying that it has constantly kept my interest and has yet to fail to give me goose bumps and bring some tears.  YES TEARS!!!!!  I'm not half as grumpy as I appear to be - it's all an act - Ya Right!!!!!

Anyways, do yourself a very BIG favor and click on the links that my DW - Melissa - the Author has provided and I will promise you that you will be very impressed, very interested and eager to be at the head of the line when it becomes available for purchase.

I will keep you posted on the release date and provide links for you.

Later my friends ---   :>)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

HELLO

Hello Blog Buddies,

Just a short hello - today is Tuesday and as most of you know I do the food shopping and errands on Tuesdays.  I have not done too much other than this today.  I mentioned in a previous posting that I had a lot - I mean a lot of paintings hanging in my studio as well as other rooms in the house.  Each painting was hung using 2 picture hooks (it's the only way to keep a painting straight on the wall) so once I took these down - whoops lots and lots of little nail holes in the walls.  I mean like lots and lots - my guess would be in the range of 100 of these little buggers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I know I would not want to move into a house and be faced with repairing these little holes!!!!!!

Soooooo I am just about done filling in these nail holes with plaster and touching them up with paint as well.  Looks so much better and now the new owners to be can move in with this project done!!!!

A few large paintings 36 x 24 and 48 x 30 are still hanging in our great room as we refuse to sit in a NAKED house - these will be taken down and the few remaining nail holes fixed and touched up with paint sometime next week or the week after.

Sooooooooo things appear to be moving and we sincerely hope that our PB's ( potential buyers) are just as busy packing as we are -----------------

Later my friends and as our move date gets closer I will fill youse guys in on our plans regarding our full time RV adventure.

Later Dudes-----------  JR  --------   :>) 

Monday, September 12, 2011

ONE WEEK CLOSER

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well today is Monday and this starts another week bringing us one more week closer to finalizing the sale of our home.  We are told the buyer is suppose to close on the sale of their house on or around 9/24 and they would like to close on the sale of our house on or around 9/28.  Sooooooooo in about 18-20 days we hope to hear the fat lady sing - LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!!!!!!!!!!!!  Exciting times.

My DW will be releasing her middle grade novel on or about October 1.  Again very, very exciting times!!!!  I'll give you guys all the details as to where you can read about it and perhaps put in an order for 1 or 2 just in time for Christmas gifts for your kids or grand kids or that orphanage across town :>).

With all my painting supplies packed away - Argggggggggg - I will be doing last minute packing and touch ups here and there for the (new-soon-to-be-owners) you know, clean this - clean that - dust off the shelves in the tops of the closets etc etc.

The 2-car garage is pretty full with boxes of stuff all packed.  Thanks goodness we have a little tiny Mini Cooper as a regular sized car would not fit in!!!

I did something this weekend that was just a tad sad but yet very liberating!!!!  With the economy being what it is and has been for quite a while now and will continue to be for ????????? , paintings are the last thing that people will spend money on.  I had about 2 years worth of paintings boxed up in the garage - about 21 boxes some with 2 paintings and others with 3 - 4 paintings.  I pulled out the framed ones and will try to sell the frames - however the remaining almost 80 pieces will be destroyed.  Ya I know --------------------------

WHAT????????
ARE YOU CRAZY - HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND MAN!!!!!!

As an artist, I am evolving everyday both in the quality of work I create and to some degree the style of that work.  HEY  - YOU IN THE BACK ROW - THAT COMMENT WAS UN-CALLED FOR AND NOT TRUE - GEEEZZZZZ!!!
 To recreate some of these pieces is something that can be done perhaps in a higher quality presentation and perhaps in a newer style. 
To store these paintings for 2-3 years or more is both costly and insane IMHO and we all know I'm a tad insane so I should recognize insane!!!!!!
 
Some of them are a couple of years old as they represent my efforts of the past 4 years (the other 100 SOLD :>)  So - I still have a nice inventory of paintings some of which I will be donating to various charities and some of which I will be giving to some friends.  Creating is all in a days work as they say and although 71 years of age I plan on spending many-many more days and years creating!  As my DW Melissa says "You BETTER or I'll kill ya!!!"  Now who can refuse a invitation like that!!! :>)

We have a "BULK" pickup once a month in our little community and that will be this Friday at which time all these 80 paintings and other "STUFF" will be carted away to the landfill.  DON'T CRY!!!!!  It's not that big a deal as I had tons of fun creating these and I learned a lot about my craft and about myself - that is very important.  You can't do that with a 9-5 job!!!!

Sooooooo off to do some minor "MOVING CHORES" -  we move most of our belongings into a storage "BUNKER" this weekend, just keeping enough to get by on til the end of September.  I just noticed the tops of the ceiling fan blades need to be dusted - I'm a very good housekeeper!!!

Later my friends,

JR  :>)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A VERY SAD DAY :>(

Good afternoon Blog Buddies,

Well----------------------------today was a very-very-very sad day for me!!!  The day finally arrived that I had to pack up all my painting supplies as well as each member of my plein air team!!!!!! """""""""(TEAR DROPS)

I procrastinated for as long as I could but alas this had to be done I'm sorry to say.

I expect it will be 4 - 6 weeks before I'm able to start throwing paint at ED the easel.  Speaking of ED, most of my plein air team members were upset but understood that in order to move things needed to be packed up.  However ED just threw a tantrum - would not break down correctly and once he even managed to jam my finger in one of his folding legs.  All he could say was "Whoops MY  BAD!!!"  Well - Ed's BAD will not be forgotten very quickly and when I'm able to get back into my painting, I just may let him sit in a closet for the first couple of painting sessions!!!!  ED does not yet realize that I have a backup easel - his name has not yet been mentioned as I know ED and the little sneaky dude will find out and find a way to do damage to my backup easel!!!!  ED is spoiled and can be very vindictive!!!! 

Sooooooo I will be stopping by my blog a few times a week and letting you folks know what is going on with our move as well as the purchase of our new RV.

So til next time, I wish you all well and "I'LL BE BACK!!!!!"

JR  :>) 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

MORE CHIAROSCURO STYLE - WIP

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well, the HVAC guy is coming this morning to shut down and winterize the 2-evaporating coolers on the roof which was asked for by the home inspector on behalf of the PB's

I have a very good artist friend in Council Bluffs Iowa.  We have never met in person - only thru the Internet and the wonders of email.  We used to exhibit on the same website - but I stopped - yet we became very good cyber friends.  He is a very detailed painter which of course is the complete opposite of me.  He says our totally opposite approach to creating art is why we get along so well.  We talk almost every day and exchange paintings ideas as well as some critiques of each others work.

WELL - he had not commented at all on my last two CHIAROSCURO STYLE pieces which knowing him - lead me to believe that they were not his cup of tea.  So I mentioned to him that his lack of critique lead me to believe his dis-interest was in fact intentional - "friends can do this!!!!"

He quickly responded that he liked the shape - form - texture but they were missing my normal bright-bold-sassy color which is a part of my style he enjoys.  He was right and these were intended to be very quiet paintings - sort of in a semi "Old World" style which is most often used with CHIAROSCURO styling.

Sooooooo I decide to answer is call to color-color-color and started this WIP this morning while waiting for the HVAC Tech.

8x10 on canvas panel - done with my stubby friend Ben Big Brush.  This is just the beginning and shall be finished perhaps later today or tomorrow.  SOON I will have to put my plein air Team MEMBERS away with the rest of the packed "stuff" as I have trouble staying away from my friends so once put away - out of sight - out of mind.  This will allow me to do what I need to do PACK-PACK-PACK!!!!1

This will be quick, so I will explain the photos up front and you can then see the progression to which I have addressed:  (Pretty fancy talk huh!)

First I painted a BG of blendings of black and 3 shades of blue.
Next I sketch in 3 orange shapes with a round brush
Next I throw on color to develop the road map and approx. shapes
Next I develop color in the form of light and shadows - light coming from the left
Gradually I develop some texture putting Ben Big Brush through his paces.

OK - now seeing is believing!


I must say that the beginning of this painting as depicted above is really CRAPPY looking - but have faith - has JR ever let you down??  HEY - you in the back - that reply was uncalled for!!

OK now all the development BLAH-BLAH I spoke to above.







This is where it stands - with more work to be done - but I better get some more packing done B4 MY DW comes home and kicks my butt to the curb - and RIGHTFULLY SO!!!!

LATER MY FRIENDS :>)   JR

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

ANOTHER DAY

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well, the carpenter is suppose to come today to do the couple of things the home inspector wanted done - which we agreed to do.

We just found out that one of the people who have contracted to buy our home is an artist.  I think it kind of nice that when we move out, another artist will live here and create her work in the same place I have been creating my work for the past 4 years.

Santa Fe is a very "artist" orientated community with perhaps more galleries per sq mile than cities 3 or 4 times its size.  The people in Santa Fe tend to be very artistic in their thinking and actions - trust me, all mediums in the "artistic creation" category are present in Santa Fe.  A great place for an artist to live and work.

I think they will be very happy here and we of course wish them all the happiness that we have experienced here for the past 4 years.

Won't get much done today as the carpenter will be here most of the morning.  Additionally a fellow from the Indian Art College just down the road from our home is coming by to look at some more frames and things to buy.  I've been selling off some of my frames and art thingies as there is very little storage in an RV and to put stuff like this in a storage "bunker" is just wrong.  So I sell these items for about 25% of their actual worth and at the same time I help some budding young artists obtain art materials at a price their budget can afford.

Well, if I hit the easel today - I feel a painting of some tomatoes on the horizon --I'll be back - if not, see YA tomorrow.,

JR  :>) 

Monday, September 5, 2011

NANA'S COFFEE SERVER

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Got an early start today and got the house cleaned.  The carpenter was suppose to come at 8am to fix the couple of things on the home inspectors list.  However he did not show up so I called him and he says - "I come tomorrow morning" - not off to a good start!!!!!

Sooooooooooo I put a smile on and packed up 5 more moving boxes full of "STUFF!"  In a way we are in between a hard place and a rock in that------- our PB is closing on their house in Washington state around the 23-24 of September and want to close on our house a few days after!!!!!  Sooooooo we need to pack NOW as we could not be out of our home in such a short time as a few days.  We also had to know where we would live after moving out - so we had to rent a small apartment for 6 months while we wait to start our RV adventure.  We also need a place to store ALL OF OUR STUFF and MOST OF OUR FURNITURE as the apartment we rented is very small and we really won't need much for a 6 month stay - it's like a VISIT!!!

Soooooooooo we need to rent a storage unit and get the stuff moved into it SOON!!!!
NOW if the PB backs out for some reason - we are knee deep in crap and expense!!!
After packing stuff, I decided to throw some paint at my easel in a very quick manner and in the CHIAROSCURO style I started playing around with the other day.

NANA'S COFFEE SERVER
14 X 11 ON CANVAS PANEL

I first covered the canvas with black paint and gave it a blast with a hair dryer to get it to dry quicker.  I use to do this all the time when I worked in water color but not so much with acrylics.  After it was semi-dry, I drew in the shape of the coffee server.



I then fill in the object to give it some body and also lay out my "road map" for this piece - just to give me a sense of where I'm going with it.  I used my stubby big brush (BEN) for most of this painting and an occasional swipe with the little stubby (LITTLE SAM.)


The rest of this will develop rather quickly as my BIG BEN BRUSH is much like a palette knife - a lot gets done in a short time!!
The rest of the progression will be more loose detail and development of color - light - shadow and form.









OK HANG ON ------- I THINK WE ARE FINISHED!
I THINK MY NANA WOULD BE PROUD!!!



DETAIL





OK - I've got to run now and do some more packing - every box is one box closer to moving!
I am happy to say that all of my Plein Air team members behaved and worked as I expected them to do.  ED (the easel) shook a couple of times and advised me that I was putting the paint on with just a tad TOO MUCH EXPRESSION & EMOTION!!!!!
(BIG SISSY!!!) 

Later my friends----  :>)




Saturday, September 3, 2011

NOTHING HAPPENS-NOTHING HAPPENS-THEN EVERYTHING HAPPENS

Good Afternoon Blog Buddies,

Well, we went up into the Sangre d' Christo mountains yesterday morning and stayed til mid afternoon.  It was a beautiful clear sunny day so we lazed around, had a nice picnic lunch and took cat naps.  A beautiful day indeed.

When we got home there was a message from our broker indicating that the appraisal had come in for the amount of our asking price - which made us very happy. 
Additionally the home inspector's report had only a few very insignificant items that required our attention - which we very quickly agreed to correct. This also made us very happy.

Now we have to wait until the buyer closes on their home and then they will close on ours.  SOOOOOOOOOOOOO safe to say that although the process is moving forward it ain't over til the Fat Lady sings!!!!!

In the mean time we are still packing and acting as tho everything is cool and that the closing will go off without a hitch - this is called POSITIVE THINKING!!!

To that end, I decided to make you folks aware of my Plein Air team as once we get onto the full time RV mode of living, I will be doing mostly Plein Air painting - landscapes and still life - YES still life can be painted En Plein Air!

I'm going to let one of my team members start off the presentation - followed by a few other members.  Please excuse the length of this post but I think it very important that you all get to know one another as you folks will be hearing more from these and other team members as time progresses.  Additionally if any of you folks have any questions for any of the team members please feel free to jump right in after this presentation is over.  Although a tad shy, I'm sure they will be happy to respond to questions.

JR's PLEIN AIR TEAM

HI - MY NAME IS ED AND I'M A HOME MADE PLEIN AIR EASEL. MY OWNER JR (RVPAINTER) CRAFTED ME OUT OF THE FOLLOWING:

A HEAVY DUTY TRIPOD FOR A CAMERA
A TABLETOP EASEL
SOME PLYWOOD AND PAINT
A THINGIE THAT THE THUMB SCREW ON THE TRIPOD WOULD SCREW INTO WHEN ATTACHED TO THE PLYWOOD

I CAN BE USED IN THE STUDIO OR AS A PLEIN AIR EASEL AND I'M VERY EASY TO SETUP AS WELL AS BREAK DOWN.

OVER TIME I HAVE DEVELOPED A PAIR OF EYES THAT ARE ON THE BACK SIDE OF ME ( not really my BACKSIDE but  the other side of me) IN THIS WAY I CAN SEE THE SAME SUBJECT THAT JR IS LOOKING AT. I HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED THE ABILITY TO SPEAK - WHICH AT TIME IRRITATES JR AS I OFFER COMMENTARY WHENEVER I PLEASE!

HI - I'M BEN BIG BRUSH - MY OWNER JR (RVPAINTER) CRAFTED ME FROM A PERFECTLY GOOD BRUSH INTO WHAT HE CALLS A "STUBBY" BRUSH (AKA - STIFFY)

JR CUT OFF THE FIRST 50% OR MORE OF MY PERFECTLY ALIGNED BRISTLES SO THAT HE COULD USE ME AS A PSEUDO PALETTE KNIFE YET RETAIN SOME SEMBLANCE OF VISIBLE BRUSH STROKES. I CAN ALSO PRODUCE WHAT JR CALLS "STACCATO STROKES" WHICH ARE QUICK DABS AND STABS OF JUICY PAINT TO DEVELOP A "PAINTERLY" LOOSE LOOK AS WELL AS DEPTH OF FIELD.

I HAVE A YOUNGER SIBLING - LITTLE SAM (AKA - LITTLE STIFFY) WHICH JR USES FOR SOME OF THOSE SMALLER PASSAGES WHERE SOMEONE AS LARGE AS ME WILL NOT QUITE FIT - I'M NOT FAT - JUST WIDE!!!!

HI - WE ARE A WHOLE GROUP OF ADDITIONAL MEMBERS IN JR's PLEIN AIR TEAM. WE MAKE UP HIS COLOR PALETTE OF BRIGHT - BOLD - SASSY COLOR.  JR USES PROFESSIONAL CHROMA INTERACTIVE ACRYLIC PAINT. IN JR'S OPINION THIS IS THE BEST PAINT FOR HIS STYLE AS IT IS THICK - CREAMY AND JUICY. THIS PAINT ALSO DRIES MUCH SLOW THAN OTHER BRANDS WHICH ALLOWS FOR COLOR BLENDING DIRECTLY ON THE PAINTING SURFACE WHICH IS ONE OF JR's RECOGNIZED TECHNIQUES, FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT US - CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK:

http://www.chromaonline.com/

----------------------------------------------------

HI BLOG BUDDIES THIS IS JR.  I ALLOWED  (ED - THE EASEL) TO START THIS INTRODUCTION OF MY PLEIN AIR PAINTING TEAM AS HE THREATENED THAT HE WOULD NEVER STAND UP STRAIGHT AGAIN IF I DID NOT LET HIM DO THIS. HE CAN BE A REAL PAIN AND AT TIMES IS NOT VERY EASEL (WHOOPS --- EASY) TO WORK WITH.

AS ED MENTIONED, HE IS ALSO SUITABLE FOR STUDIO PAINTING AND TO THIS DEGREE I WILL BE PUTTING THESE TEAM MEMBERS THROUGH THEIR PACES IN THE STUDIO DURING THE NEXT MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE START (APRIL 1,2012) OF OUR FULL TIME RV ADVENTURE.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED (ED SHOULD REALLY LISTEN TO THIS) THAT ANY TEAM MEMBER WHO DOES NOT CARRY THEIR LOAD OR DOES NOT MEASURE UP TO MY STANDARDS DURING THIS 6 MONTH TRIAL PERIOD WILL BE ELIMINATED FROM THE TEAM!!!!!

AS THIS SECTION OF MY RVPAINTER BLOG DEVELOPS OVER TIME, ADDITIONAL MEMBERS WILL BE INTRODUCED (PERHAPS BY ED) - ASSUMING HE MAKES THE CUT DURING THIS 6 MONTH TRIAL PERIOD!

LATER MY FRIENDS :>)  ----JR 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

NANA'S TEA POT

Hi Blog Buddies,

Well, today is a quiet day - after the shock of the water heater repair bill!!!! :>(

I played around for a little while today with a painting - I feel kind of lazy today so this is a WIP which will be continued another day.

I mention before that I watch the re-runs (on PBS) of a painting show in which Helen Van Wyk (deceased) taught various techniques during a 1/2 hour show.  She used oil paint most of the time but the techniques can be applied to acrylic as well.  She liked to put a few guide lines onto the canvas and then with a small brush she drew in the component(s) of her scene.  I've been trying to do that and not only can it develop additional skills but it is also a lot of fun.
This 8x10 canvas panel and the background black was put in very quickly with a palette knife.  After drying. I put in the outline of a tea pot and then proceeded to apply color with a small stubby (AKA stiffy) brush in a technique similar to a palette knife.

Following are some progression photos:


I throw down some color quickly with short quick strokes of "little stubby" for the sole purpose of developing a "road map" as well as visible staccato type brush strokes



Detail to better show the palette knife application produce by "little stubby."



As I say a WIP to be completed perhaps tomorrow - although we plan on going up to the top of the mountain (if a nice day) to have morning mocha a treat and read a book - enjoy nature and have a nice picnic lunch.  So perhaps Saturday will be a painting day.

Later my friends.  JR ---  :>)

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well-------------------------the hot water heater is fixed!!!!!

Ever notice repairs cost about 500% more than you think they should????????????

One new circulation motor - and labor as follows:

Parts $255
Labor $135
Tax $33.45

$423.00Total

Our showers will be nice and hot tomorrow ---- but I will not be singing in the shower --- and if I am I'll be singing the BLUES!!!!  "I don't got no money no more la-la-la-la"

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!